C. West Churchman -- groundbreaking philosopher

C. West Churchman, an influential philosopher and teacher who helped create the concept of corporate responsibility with his groundbreaking studies on sociological systems, has died at a rest home in Bolinas.

Professor Churchman, a longtime professor at UC Berkeley, died Sunday of complications from Parkinson's disease. He was 90.

The onetime Nobel Prize nominee dedicated his life to the application of philosophy and ethical values to daily life, including the corporate world.

An author of 12 books, he applied his unique philosophy of how systems operate to everything from wildlife to the search for life on Mars.

Born in Philadelphia, Professor Churchman received a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1935, a master's degree a year later and a doctorate in symbolic logic in 1938, all from the University of Pennsylvania.

He began teaching philosophy at the university even before he had completed his dissertation.

Professor Churchman served as a mathematical statistician for the U.S. Army during World War II, working on experimental methods of testing small- arms ammunition.

In 1945, he was elected chairman of the University of Pennsylvania philosophy department, where he developed an expertise in what is called systems design, which is essentially the philosophical study of how corporate, societal, hierarchical or even assembly-line systems work. He became internationally recognized, and somewhat controversial, because of what was then a radical concept of incorporating ethical values into operating systems, according to his wife, Gloria Churchman, of Mill Valley.

"Academic philosophy wasn't satisfying to him," she said. "He wanted philosophy to have meaning in the world. He wanted to insert an ethical dimension into science. And he really made it his job to remind all these CEOs that they had ethical responsibilities."

His work served as a guideline for many corporations attempting to improve their work environments as well as for a new field of corporate responsibility, experts say.

Professor Churchman was hired in 1958 as a professor at UC Berkeley's graduate school of business and also served in the school's Space Sciences Laboratory. From 1983 until his retirement in 1996, he was a professor of peace and conflict studies.

His most widely acclaimed books are "Challenge to Reason," "The Design of Inquiring Systems" and "The Systems Approach," which promote ethical philosophies of systems operation.

Professor Churchman consulted with numerous nonprofits and government organizations, including NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Office of Education and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In 1985, he started the first independent Mars investigation of photographs from the Viking spacecraft that appeared to show a face and other unusual features. The mostly inconclusive results are still being debated.

"He was a tremendous teacher. People would flock to his class," Gloria Churchman said. "He always kept you on the edge of your chair, because he was a very, very exciting lecturer. He had students from everywhere, all over the world."

In addition to his wife, Professor Churchman is survived by his son Daniel Wharton Churchman of Bolinas and two grandchildren.

The funeral is private, but a public memorial service will be announced at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be sent to the Parkinson's Institute, 1170 Morse Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1605.